Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy x1: The federal government is pushing a lot of funding at the Neighborhood Watch program.

Bureaucracy x3: The federal push for the Neighborhood Watch is not just being pushed by people in New York. People in Washington, for reasons of their own, are aggressively encouraging an effort to turn New York into some sort of police state. Interesting...

Bureaucracy x4: Someone is looking to increase their network of informal influence in the area bureaucracy.

The FBI is definitely pushing the Neighborhood Watch program and encouraging various federal agencies to expedite funding for it.

Within the FBI, the group pushing the Neighborhood Watch is a particularly secretive and exclusive group.

Bureaucracy x6: The S.A.D. is heavily pushing Neighborhood Watch.

Church

Church x1: A variety of vigils have been held for the Lunez family. Misery and woe, misery and woe.

Church x2: Troublesome graveyard vandals! People keep breaking in and cutting up trees. The Neighborhood Watch *almost* caught them this time.

There is a small but vocal group of evangelical Christians who take the Lucasta sighting and Lunez murders as evidence that Satan is directly interfering with events on Earth. They are preparing for the coming war in ways that (to them) seem appropriate. Less hysterical religious leaders have tried, without success, to calm them down.

Church x3: There is an informal group of various Christian religious leaders in the New York area who are attempting to place Lucasta in the larger scheme of Christian belief. They would very much like to see the Lucasta sighting as a miracle from God. Given what was said at the event, however, they are having some difficulty.

Despite the best efforts of the various Christian hierarchies in the area, several priests, ministers, etc. have quietly indicated that they agree with those who view the Lucasta sighting as a sign of infernal influence.

Church x4: Word has it that someone is planning a sermon linking Lucasta to Revelations.

Church x5: There is fear among the better placed and more far-thinking religious leaders that the furor over Lucasta could result in some kind of hysterical conflict between good Christians and the Lucasta cultists. They would like to avoid this.

The sermon is being planned by Father Julius Parker, who leads a small storefront congregation in the Bronx.

Finance

Finance x1: Mortgage companies shaky! Possibility of an impending financial scandal/crisis! Fears of a recession! Insiders are much more worried than they let on.

Finance x2: A few hedge fund managers are quietly planning to retire early, like next week, due to the shaky market.

There are rumors that the current difficulties in the market are due to a failed market manipulation attempt. Some people point to strange market behavior in the fall of 2005 as an example of a similar inexplicable phenomenon.

Finance x3: It looks very likely that the current problem with the markets is at least in part due to someone attempting unsuccessfully to manipulate them.

There is a lot of quiet research being done in ways to continue predatory lending practices while giving the appearance of reform. Ideally some sort of 'reform' package can be put together and sold to the public in order to offset some of the current market instability.

Finance x4: There has been a lot of backroom deal-making and maneuvering in an attempt to predict/discover/spy out the government's bailout plans. A couple of serious conspiracies are at work on this project, some of which are not based in New York.

The Chicago Board of Trade keeps coming up in discussions of how the current financial troubles could have started. It seems like an unusual connection to you, but you can't explain why it keeps coming up.

Finance x5: A delightful and charming young woman has been making contacts with area financial types. [?]

Finance x6: She is rumored to be particularly charismatic. [?]

Health

Health x1: Research continues into ways that various mind-altering drugs could have been used to 'cause' the Lucasta sightings.

There is a great deal of excitement over the implications of the May 11 Hudson River incident with regard to studying mob behavior and the ways that religious ecstasy and mental illness can cause or reinforce one another.

Health x2: Investigations have tentatively ruled out xylothanamenic acid as the sole agent used in the May 11 Hudson production, although it is not yet clear what other substances were used. Authorities are confident that the xylothanamenic acid stolen upstate in early May was, in fact, used in the May 11 incident.

Health x3: Someone has been aggressively making friends among workers are area hospitals and clinics. Word has it, he's the guy to go to if you've got a problem you can't get solved through the normal channels or if you've just run into a tough spot and need a bit of help.

Health x4: Everyone's new best friend seems to get results - it is not just all talk. I've got a friend he helped through her divorce. Don't know what she would have done without him.

The Lunez bodies definitely were partially eaten, in addition to being horribly misshapen and mutilated. The officer who found them required extensive therapy for the nightmares.

A lot of the studies 'proving' Lucasta followers are insane or otherwise explaining away the May 11 incident are clearly part of a bullshit coverup attempt. It has been made clear, however, that researchers who do not tow the line will never receive federal funding again.

Health x5: This guy also, by all accounts, has a great punch recipe.

The Lunez bodies have marks that look like fanged teeth ripping pieces of flesh from them, and they were seriously deformed. It's almost like the flesh was reshaped and reformed like putty at their wrists. No one knows how it was done.

High Society

High Society x1: Some high society elements are quite pleased with themselves for getting behind the Neighborhood Watch program before the Lunez case hit. They all feel that their efforts, personally, led to the success of the entire program.

High Society x2: There is something of a small scandal involving mistreatment of the horses used to pull carriages around Central Park.

High Society x3: Despite a great deal of interest in the Lucasta phenomenon, the studios have decided to hold off on making any sort of Lucasta movie or television show until the heat has died off a little bit. It may make marketing more difficult, but should also reduce the risk of angry mobs or federal investigators.

Industry

Industry x1: There has been a slight upturn in New York's industrial sector following the recent China scandals. It seems companies are more willing to turn to domestic firms rather than risk facing an expensive and embarrassing recall.

Industry x2: Wu Industries is just wrapping up a summer-long wave of expansion! Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Chicago all now have Wu offices.

Industry x4: Apparently, Brian Wu has a good side and a bad side. A recent anti-corruption campaign at Wu Industries has left the employees of WI with a much stronger respect for their boss.

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Legal

Legal x3: With the heroes come the scavengers. The law firm Wright & Co has already started advertising its services for people who feel they were wrongly fingered by the Neighborhood Watch.

Legal x4: Wright & Co has apparently reached some sort of agreement with the NYPD regarding its position regarding the Neighborhood Watch. Apparently, the NYPD would rather have Wright deal with the cases than one of the other firms. Not clear why.

Media

Media x1: There has been a lot of media coverage of the dangers of the cult movement and of the Lucasta movement in general.

Media x2: Reporters for 'respectable' news sources have been instructed to avoid showing the Lucasta movement in a favorable light.

Media x3: Some of the more left-leaning reporters have put forward the theory that the timing of the Lunez scandal was deliberately manipulated.

The editorial staff at the Dirge is very much looking forward to cashing in their political chips for pushing the Neighborhood Watch program so aggressively.

With the heroes come the vultures. Wright & Co is aggressively offering legal services for people 'wrongly' fingered by the Neighborhood Watch.

Media x4: It has been made clear to editors at local papers that failing to tow the party line with respect to the Lucasta phenomenon could result in greater difficulty getting permits, getting leaks from official sources and getting inside access at government offices. The government and its various offices are not happy with all the Lucasta craziness.

Media x5: Among the other unsolicited shit circulating the gutters of the journalistic and media world are several scripts for Lucasta-themed television shows, movies, and books. These will never be made in the current regulatory and political environment. Except in the tabloids. Damn their independence.

Occult

Occult x1: Over the summer, lots of Lucasta-themed songs, stories, myths, etc. have surfaced. Needless to say, Lucasta is still being widely discussed. It is still not clear what happened on May 11, or what the event's significance is.

It has become clear that, for some reason, photographs taken of the Lucasta sighting show nothing of the supernatural phenomenon.

Discussion of the May 11 Lucasta sighting by various New York occult groups have yet to produce any truly satisfactory explanations for the event.

Occult x2: The original Society of the Unbroken Mind, the Lucasta cult that first appeared during the height of the initial Lucasta craze and claims to have been formed by Lucasta himself, has broken into three groups. The group that still calls itself the Society of the Unbroken Mind holds that the May 11 sighting was falsified by the forces of darkness. They vehemently hold that Lucasta would never have arranged that kind of spectacle. The Society of the Age of the Lightbringer believes that the May 11 Hudson River signals the beginning of the new age. The Heralds of the Lightbringer believe that there will be a second coming of Lucasta and that it will be public and may resemble the fake May 11 sighting.

Occult x3: There was some sort of big ritual that went down late August after being prepped all summer.

Occult x4: Scions of the Mystic Sigil are somehow connected with the ritual, although its not clear if they did it, were monitoring the situation or were trying to prevent it from happening. Word has it the ritual was based on old Solomonic texts, and had to be performed at the full moon.

Occult x5: Scions of the Mystical Sigil were definitely behind the big ritual that went off. The ritual bound a spirit associated with the Arte Goetica.

Several very respectable occult groups have aggressively distanced themselves from the Lucasta movement, including the Old Tome Society, the Servants of the Risen Sun, S.I.N. and St. Patrick's Society of Enlightened Thules.

Occult x6: There is still talk behind the scenes of some sort of new, large-scale project involving many of those involved in the New York occult scene.

There is some sort of occult secret society organizing itself in New York. It hasn't started recruiting yet, and no one knows much about it, except that it is rumored to be exciting and edgy. It uses some kind of Rose as its symbol.

Police

Police x1: Despite initial difficulties, the Neighborhood Watch program is now very much in effect. After the Lunez scandal, no one at the NYPD wants to be seen as not supporting it.

Police x2: Many police higher-ups are very much looking forward to the next budget season in light of the Neighborhood Watch. They all anticipate being able to increase their personal empires!

Animal control is on the lookout for something very large, with unusual teeth.

Police x3: Screw the pigeons. For some reason, they seem to have adopted HQ as their shit-target. The janitors are pissed because of the shit on the building, and the cops are pissed cause of the shit on their cars, hats, and clothing.

There was federal encouragement for the initial start of the Neighborhood Watch movement.

There were several firings after the Lunez case. Rumor has it someone may have initially tried to coverup their disappearance.

The rumors are true. The Lunez bodies were horribly mutilated and even partially eaten!

Alcoholism is on the rise amongst NYPD officers, and there have been a rash of people putting in for early retirement.

Police x4: In the wake of the Lunez case, the police are paying more attention to old missing person's cases and anything that hints of kidnapping.

There was an incident in late May where a Mexican day laborer narrowly escaped a kidnapping attempt. The weird thing is that at the time the guy first reported this to us, the feds jumped on it. This was a long time before Neighborhood Watch and Lunez story broke, so I don't know why a spic was so important.

The police got a big break on the murder of Vinnie "Thumbs" Prodi. An anonymous source claims that Throat Cutter Hernandez hired two assassins named Hawk and Sparrow to kill Vinnie. TCH also hired a Romanian assassin named Omorescu to do the same job. Hawk and Sparrow ambushed Omerescu in Vinnie's bedroom, but Omorescu escaped out a window. The police are looking very hard for him and are willing to give him anything if it will get him to testify.
Forensics says that the Lunez family was partially eaten while still alive.

Police x5: Higher-ups seem to think the Mexican kidnapping attempt is related to the Lunez case.

You notice many of your contacts mention running into a charming immigrant woman, whose accent seemed Eastern European. She's probably just one of those people who like the police, or feel safer in their presence, as a lot of cops have seen her recently, seemingly wherever they are.

Elements of the FBI definitely got behind the Neighborhood Watch and pushed.

Serious weirdness with the Lunez bodies - not only were they partially eaten, but the bit marks do not correspond to anything that forensics can think of. And the mutilations were very, very strange. Their flesh seems to have flowed like putty.

Police x6: Its almost like she is watching them.

The Lunez bodies have marks that look like fanged teeth ripped pieces of flesh from them.

Politics

Politics x1: The politicians who got behind the Neighborhood Watch program before the Lunez case broke are doing quite well for themselves in the aftermath.

Politics x3: City Hall is considering introducing new legislation to significantly curtail civil liberties in New York and add more teeth to the Neighborhood Watch. They are still balancing just what the measure will contain (IE, they are not sure how much they can get away with).

Politics x4: There was definite high-level support for Neighborhood Watch coming from the federal government, even before the Lunez case broke.

Politics x5: Yes, the Lunez bodies were partially devoured and were mutilated in horrible, unnatural ways. While they were still alive.

Street

Street x1: The Staten Island situation is calming down.

Throat Cutter Hernandez is scared. No shit. Scared. TCH is never scared. But he is now. Obviously, since he is scared, he is making life hell for everyone.

Gobs and gobs of Lucasta street preachers, would-be bards and hangers on. It seems like everyone with a scrap of cardboard and a stick is wandering around New York preaching some variant of the Lucasta story, although the details vary. There have even been some scuffles. The police have taken to busting some of these types when they can find (or fabricate) a reason. Seems the cops don't like Lucasta. Given the riot he caused, it is an understandable attitude to take.

Street x2: Some small street gangs have formed around various factions of Lucasta-worshippers.

Notable among the frequent and occasionally violent disagreements between the Lucasta factions are the ones between those that believe the May 11 sighting was fake and those that believe it was real.

If you have any information about an assassin named 'Omorescu', TCH will pay very, very well.

Street x3: There is some sort of agreement with regard to the Staten Island situation. Throat Cutter is running the drug trade in Staten Island now.

It seems this 'Omorescu' may have gone to the police and spilled the beans about one of TCH's jobs. This is not appreciated.

There have been some memorable incidents where the police have attempted to bust unauthorized performances involving Lucasta themes, only to find that the performers have quickly vanished. Such events are mostly confined to Staten Island, where there are presumably easier and better hidey holes than in the more overdeveloped burroughs.

Some fairly elaborate Lucasta stories and songs have surfaced. There seem to be a lot of them.

After some initial misgivings, the various street people of New York have come to embrace the Neighborhood Watch program. It seems the memory of the "Street Devil"overrides fears of police brutality.

Street x4: There's apparently been a massive hobo "training program" in the art of "How not to get yourself killed by the Street Devil."

Street x5: Word on the street among the day laborers is to be careful. Someone's friends brother's neighbor was picked up to do some handyman work and then the freak took him to this room covered in tarps and tried to cut him up. Our intrepid hero managed to stun his assailant by hitting him with either his toolbox or a conveniently placed segment of PVC before making his escape.

The Saracens and the Satan's Mothers seem to have gotten a new friend recently, who is increasing avoiding actively taking sides. Instead, she is building up a reputation as something of a neutral party.

Transportation

Transportation x1: Incredibly confusing and heated situation involving cabbie discontent over new GPS devices to be installed in taxis! Strike not entirely successful. Issue still not fully resolved.

Transportation x2: There are rumors that the new units to be installed in cabs do not just track location - they also send recordings of what happens in the cab to a central location, and will be used to ticket cabbies who speed.

Transportation x3: There is talk of using more creative forms of protest since it has been made clear some cabbies will not get on board with a general strike.

Transportation x4: Someone has been poking several abandoned garages and warehouses, etc.

Transportation x5: There is talk of having a continuous string of cabs drive in circles around important bridges or landmarks in protest of what is seen as unfair treatment. It is not clear, however, whether or not this will get off the ground. It would be a much more aggressive tactic than has been previously used.

Underworld

Underworld x1: The situation in Staten Island has calmed down.

Underworld x2: There is a new agreement governing Staten Island.

Underworld x3: Some shakeups going on in the scene (understandable, given what happened last spring). Looks liks there is at least one new player moving in behind the scenes.

The Families and the Russians split control of Staten Island. Throat Cutter Hernandez got control of the drug trade.

Underworld x4: The person moving in behind the scenes is apparently already known to some of the local players - it seems he is focusing more on re-establishing old contacts rather than establishing new ones. Meanwhile, a second person with no prior contact has been trying, without much success, to edge their way in.

The police recently got a tip about the death of Vinnie "Thumbs" Prodi. Assasins Hawk, Sparrow, and Omorescu were somehow involved.

Underworld x5: He's moving into some areas left vacant after Hawk and Sparrow did whatever it was they did.

According to the police's tip, TCH ordered the death of Vinnie. The bitch. Unfortunately, we don't have the resources to avenge this death yet.

University

University x1: Lucasta is something of a fad at area colleges and universities. 'Lucasta' study groups are forming among students, who wish they were as cool as him. Several facebook groups and publicly posted pieces of atrocious poetry stand as a testament to this. Even better, it has become known that expressing interest in Lucasta makes the administration angry! Score!

There has been a lot of funding thrown at people working to debunk the Lucasta sighting and prove the 'dangers' of cults in a transparent attempt to discredit Lucasta followers and rationalize the May 11 Lucasta sighting.

University x2: Making college administrators even more unhappy is the interest in the Lucasta phenomenon among their tenured (and difficult to control) professors. Obviously, many of the religion profs are all over this like stink on shit (how often do you see a major public occult religion form? It could be the next Wicca!). Several of the optics, forensics and chemistry experts have been meeting informally to discuss how the May 11 sighting could have been faked.

Of course, everyone knows that the sighting was really a hoax. And publicly says so, with few exceptions. Tenure doesn't help you if they can get you declared a lunatic.

Among students from outside of the area, there is some resentment about the Neighborhood Watch program. Words like 'police state' have been bandied around. It hasn't really coalesced into anything yet. In the wake of the Lunez case, people seem to realize that it would be best to wait before rocking the boat too much. Of course, there are also pro-Neighborhood Watch groups on campus.

University x3: Area colleges have already started to receive indications from local, state, and federal sources expressing interest and concern about the interest in Lucasta being shown by area students. Perhaps some of these students were somehow involved in the May 11 hoax? Or perhaps they are attempting to plan some sort of repeat? Perhaps an on-campus visit by some friendly investigators is in order?

Boston is emerging as the (temporary) center of 'Lucasta' studies (due to the large number of investigators in New York who have demonstrated an unfortunate tendency to aggressively interview anyone showing too much interest in the May 11 incident). It is expected that work in this field will shift back to New York after unwanted official attention into the topic tapers off.

University x4: It's damn hard to get funding to study Lucasta unless you are trying to show the movement is dangerous in some way.

University x5: Okay. Weird/interesting stories from the summer grad students. First exhibit is the guy who tried to do a thesis on the habits of fireants and somehow managed to set several thousand loose at Columbia in one of the faculty office areas. Needless to say, he was quickly shuffled off.

Second up is an expert on old religious and cult practices. Apparently, he's known amongst such weirdos as being very knowledgable, but he had not gotten a doctorate to back up his knowledge. This summer, he sent in a dissertation that was over 200 pages. Most boring thing ever.

University x6: Okay. The cult studies guy was named Adam Jones.

Next up on the weird list is the nocturnal guy. This one was more normal, just insisted on meeting after nine in the evening all the time. Don't know what he was doing. I think I've seen him working with one of the student groups last spring...